Academic Commons Search Resultshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog.rss?f%5Bdepartment_facet%5D%5B%5D=Center+on+Globalization+and+Sustainable+Development&f%5Bsubject_facet%5D%5B%5D=South+Asian+studies&q=&rows=500&sort=record_creation_date+desc
Academic Commons Search Resultsen-usNational Common Minimum Programme of the Congress-Led United Progressive Alliance: Policy Reform and Public Investment Requirementshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:125189
Bajpai, Nirupam; Sachs, Jeffrey D.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:8210Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) lays down some of the key areas of focus of the new government in Delhi that came into office in May 2004. This note attempts to identify and analyze what the key policy reform measures and the public investment requirements might be in order to attain some of the critical objectives of the NCMP. In terms of the thrust areas highlighted in the NCMP, focusing on rural development -- agriculture, infrastructure, R&D, agro-based industries and higher public spending in health and education are the most prominent ones. At the heart of the NCMP is the following assessment. India's poverty reduction must be built on two pillars: rapid economic growth and targeted investments aimed at the poorest of the poor. The rapid economic growth is to be based largely on the private sector, including foreign direct investments into India. Thus, the budget, for example supports many critical areas of market reform and growth promotion, including financial sector deepening, export promotion, liberalization of foreign direct investment. We are of the view that India's rural development would essentially require an agriculture-led growth strategy. In short, the rural development strategy for India may perhaps focus along the following lines -- agriculture-led growth as the main area of focus; under which, some of the key objectives may be: a) Productivity improvements, including agricultural extension, research and development, and crop diversification; b) Bringing in larger areas under irrigation so as to reduce monsoon dependence; c) Enhanced focus on agricultural exports, and much greater focus on building up rural infrastructure, with specific focus on power, roads, and availability of safe drinking water. Just as in China, a careful balance will have to be struck between two kinds of investments in the rural hinterland (e.g. in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar): physical infrastructure in roads, rail, airports, and telecomms to bring these regions closer to the international markets, and investments in human capital, mainly education and health, to raise the productivity of the rural population. The latter investments may end up attracting jobs to the interior, eager to benefit from an increasingly skilled labor force; or it may provoke large-scale migration to more economical coastal regions. Either way, however, the currently impoverished populations would benefit from rising living standards, wherever in India they are enjoyed.Area planning and development, South Asian studiesnb2046, js2201Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, Economics, Health Policy and Management, Earth Institute, International and Public AffairsWorking papersScaling Up Primary Health Services in Rural India: Public Investment Requirements and Health Sector Reform: Case Studies of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradeshhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:123815
Bajpai, Nirupam; Dholakia, Ravindra H.; Sachs, Jeffrey D.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:8211Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000We attempt to address two key questions in this paper: 1) In terms of state-wide scaling up of rural services (in Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh) in the area of primary health, what will it cost financially and in terms of human resources to scale-up these services in all the rural areas of these two states? And 2) What policy, institutional and governance reforms may be necessary so as to ensure proper service delivery? As is well known, merely setting up more health clinics, for instance, is not going to be enough; higher public investments in these areas needs to be accompanied by systemic reforms that will help overhaul the present service delivery system, including issues of control and oversight, for example.Public health, Area planning and development, South Asian studiesnb2046, js2201Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, Economics, Health Policy and Management, Earth Institute, International and Public AffairsWorking papersScaling Up Primary Health Services in Rural Tamil Nadu: Public Investment Requirements and Health Sector Reformhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:123824
Bajpai, Nirupam; Dholakia, Ravindra H.; Sachs, Jeffrey D.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:8213Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000We attempt to address two key questions in this paper: 1) In terms of state-wide scaling up of rural services in the area of primary health, what will it cost financially and in terms of human resources to scale-up these services in all the rural areas of the state? And 2) what policy, institutional and governance reforms may be necessary so as to ensure proper service delivery? As is well known, merely setting up more health clinics, for instance, is not going to be enough; higher public investments in these areas needs to be accompanied by systemic reforms that will help overhaul the present service delivery system, including issues of control and oversight, for example.Public health, Area planning and development, South Asian studiesnb2046, js2201Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, Economics, Health Policy and Management, Earth Institute, International and Public AffairsWorking papersScaling Up Primary Education Services in Rural Tamil Nadu: Public Investment Requirements and Reformhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:123821
Bajpai, Nirupam; Dholakia, Ravindra H.; Sachs, Jeffrey D.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:8212Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000We attempt to address two key questions in this paper: 1) In terms of state-wide scaling up of rural services in the area of primary education, what will it cost financially and in terms of human resources to scale-up these services in all the rural areas of the state? And 2) What policy, institutional and governance reforms may be necessary so as to ensure proper service delivery? As is well known, merely constructing more schools, for instance, is not going to be enough; higher public investments in these areas needs to be accompanied by systemic reforms that will help overhaul the present service delivery system, including issues of control and oversight, for example.Elementary education, Area planning and development, South Asian studiesnb2046, js2201Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, Economics, Health Policy and Management, Earth Institute, International and Public AffairsWorking papersReaching the Millennium Development Goals in South Asiahttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:123803
Bajpai, Nirupam; Sachs, Jeffrey D.; Volavka, Nicole H.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:8209Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set the stage for developing countries to reduce extreme poverty and the problems that accompany it, such as hunger, high rates of infant, child and maternal mortality, insufficient disease control, lack of education, illiteracy, gender disparity and environmental degradation. Each goal has a specific target level for progress, such as halving poverty or reducing infant mortality rates by two thirds. All goals are to be reached by 2015, using 1990 as the benchmark year. By setting a time frame and specific levels of reductions for a variety of indicators, progress towards the goals is measurable, if data on indicators is available. Tracking progress is an essential step towards meeting the goals, as problem areas can be identified only through monitoring and evaluation, and interventions and strategies can then be developed to target them. South Asia as a whole seems likely to halve poverty levels by 2015, due in large part to India’s progress on this MDG indicator. However, the situation is not as promising in other areas, such as reduction of high rates of infant, under-five and maternal mortality. There are wide inter-country, inter-state and intra-state differences in levels of progress towards the goals throughout South Asia. In a country as large and as populous as India, tackling problems such as high maternal mortality rates at the state and even at the district levels could determine whether India as a whole achieves the MDGs. Over one billion of the roughly 1.37 billion residents of South Asia reside in India, which means that India’s achievement of any of the goals brings South Asia as a whole a step closer towards regional goal attainment. For South Asia as whole and for India in particular, public spending must be increased in the areas of health, education, rural infrastructure and agricultural research and development. The Indian government under-invests in all of these areas. Not only must public spending be increased, but spending must be accompanied by reforms. Decentralization would lead to greater control and oversight, conditions necessary for accountability. There are only 11 years remaining to meet the MDGs. It is time for South Asian governments to focus on problem areas related to extreme poverty in the region, such as high rates of infant and maternal mortality, low primary school enrolment and completion rates, poor rural infrastructure and low rates of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, especially in rural areas.Area planning and development, South Asian studiesnb2046, js2201, nhv5Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, Economics, Health Policy and Management, Earth Institute, International and Public AffairsWorking papersIndia's Challenge to Meet the Millennium Development Goalshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:123767
Bajpai, Nirupam; Sachs, Jeffrey D.; Volavka, Nicole H.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:8200Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000On its current economic trajectory, India will achieve some of the eight Millennium Development Goals, but will miss many of the others. The good news is that India is making great strides with regard to the first of the Millennium Development Goals: reducing extreme poverty. Even though there is an active debate about the "exact" measure of extreme poverty, all indicators suggest rapid progress, enough on the current trajectory so that the headcount poverty rate in 2015 will be less than half of the rate in 1990, as called for by the Millennium Development Goals. At the same time, India is likely to miss several of the other goals, related to hunger, IMR, under-5, and MMR, disease, and the physical environment. The proportion of children in India who are chronically undernourished remains very high. So too does the MMR and IMR. And the goal of environmental sustainability is not being achieved, as parts of India are suffering from worsening crises of water, soils, and deforestation. What India requires is a significant increase of targeted investments in clinics, schools, nutrition programs, disease control, irrigation, rural electrification, rural roads, and other basic investments, especially in rural India as the current budgetary allocations are inadequate. Higher public investments in these areas need to be accompanied by systemic reforms that will help overhaul the present system of service delivery, including issues of control and oversight. Additionally, India should "plan for success." The Planning Commission should ensure that current programs as well as the next Five-Year Plan are built around achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Indeed, not only the Union Government, but every state and even every district, should base their investment programs around achieving the Millennium Development Goals.Area planning and development, South Asian studiesnb2046, js2201, nhv5Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, Economics, Health Policy and Management, Earth Institute, International and Public AffairsWorking papers